Undergravel Filter

[wayne_stone]

I am setting up a tank with an undergravel filter however the gravel i intend to use is very fine almost sand like, Do i need to lay a layer of larger gravel onto the filter base to stop the fine gravel dropping through

 

[PaperArrow]

Somebody should be able to advise a better solution... and answer! , but i think the finer particles of sand will over time fall to the bottom of the larger gravel particles, so this would be counter productive.

 

[loveyourfish]

put screens between the filter and the sand. even though if you are using 2 different material, 1 larger gravels, and 1 fine gravel, its advisable to saparate them with screens.

the mesh size of the screen depends on how fine your gravels. you need a mesh size that is smaller than your average gravel size. this will prevent the gravels to fall to the bottom of the undergravel filter

 

[sophos9]

What's the specific requirement to run an UGF? There multiple issues and little benefit in running one...

 

[BigIan]

I am setting up a tank with an undergravel filter however the gravel i intend to use is very fine almost sand like, Do i need to lay a layer of larger gravel onto the filter base to stop the fine gravel dropping through

if your using fine gravel then your going to land your slef in trouble..

even if you do manage too seperate the fine gravel from the filter the gravel is going to seriously restrict flow and so an undergravel filter not being the most efficent filter in the world is going to be even worse...

spring the extra cash and either get an internal or an external filter

 

[sophos9]

What size tank are you setting up?

 

[loveyourfish]

if your using fine gravel then your going to land your slef in trouble..

even if you do manage too seperate the fine gravel from the filter the gravel is going to seriously restrict flow and so an undergravel filter not being the most efficent filter in the world is going to be even worse...

spring the extra cash and either get an internal or an external filter

I agree that the finer the gravel, it will ristrict flow.

But still finer gravel have larger surface areas compare to larger gravels and this is an advantage for the growth of benificial bacteria. finer gravel is also suitable for planted tank to provide grip of the plants' roots.

However a little bit more maintainence to vacuum the gravels is necessary to prevent clogging.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

What's the specific requirement to run an UGF? There multiple issues and little benefit in running one...

agreed

 

[BigIan]

I agree that the finer the gravel, it will ristrict flow.

But still finer gravel have larger surface areas compare to larger gravels and this is an advantage for the growth of benificial bacteria. finer gravel is also suitable for planted tank to provide grip of the plants' roots.

the UGF would hamper plant growth as the roots would not develop properly
and the larger surface area dosent count for anything if oxygen and ammonia cant get to them fast enough

However a little bit more maintainence to vacuum the gravels is necessary to prevent clogging.

this again is ahmpering the UGF as the vacing will remove the bacteria

 

[BigIan]

What's the specific requirement to run an UGF? There multiple issues and little benefit in running one...

a UGF is a plastic tray that sits under the gravel and alows water to flow under thr gravel, the water is thrn brought up into the tank via a tube either air driven or with a powerhead mounted on it....

the problems with UGF`s are that they use the gravel as filter media, meaning that all the stuff that you want to vac out of the substrate you cant as its been pulled deep down into the substrate,
and vacking the substrate can often cause mini cycles.

also after a year or two of runnibng they can clog meaning you need to strip own the entire tank to clean them.

on the plus side they`re cheap to run

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah i think sophos was asking the OP why they wanted to run an UGF specifically rather than an internal/external

 

[rdd1952]

Forget the gravel and UG filter. Those are terribly outdated and don't do a very good job. Get a HOB or canister filter. The will work 10 times better than the UG filter and are much easier to clean too. If you do indeed decide to use it you will have to have gravel that is coarse. Otherwise the waterflow will be restricted and as soon as a little trash gets in the crevices between the gravel, the waterflow will slow or stop completely.

 

[loveyourfish]

LOL~

I don't think the UGF will hamper the plants' roots growth when you use screens, isn't it?

vacuuming the surface of the gravel do remove the BB's, but not all but hey BB's don't only grow in filter medias, they do grow on the other parts of the tank as well.

 

[sophos9]

a UGF is a plastic tray that sits under the gravel and alows water to flow under thr gravel, the water is thrn brought up into the tank via a tube either air driven or with a powerhead mounted on it....

the problems with UGF`s are that they use the gravel as filter media, meaning that all the stuff that you want to vac out of the substrate you cant as its been pulled deep down into the substrate,
and vacking the substrate can often cause mini cycles.

also after a year or two of runnibng they can clog meaning you need to strip own the entire tank to clean them.

on the plus side they`re cheap to run

Sure, I understand what a UGF is, was asking the OP if they had a specific need for one before telling him no... You never know!

yeah i think sophos was asking the OP why they wanted to run an UGF specifically rather than an internal/external

 

[BigIan]

LOL~

I don't think the UGF will hamper the plants' roots growth when you use screens, isn't it?

vacuuming the surface of the gravel do remove the BB's, but not all but hey BB's don't only grow in filter medias, they do grow on the other parts of the tank as well.

you strip your filter out of a tank and see how long your fish last before they are poisoned by ammonia.

the ammount of bacteria that grow on other surfaces is tiny compaired to that of in the filter.
Because the filter provides the best enviroment possible for the bacteria, highly oxygenated, with alot of flow bringing the food the bacteria need to them...

i`m assuming by screens that you mean those gravel tidy mesh things...

then yes they will hamper plant growth on their own letalone with a ugf,
especial echinodorus sp, (amason sword ect) and crypts, who grow best with deep substrates, my cryts and swors have atleast 4" of substrate ranging to 8 at the back of the tank...

and i can assure you they use every inch!